Rolling River RoRi CD
002; 49 minutes; 2001

Providence’s 1999
self-titled debut album demonstrated a quintet eager to swim against the tide
of current Irish traditional music. Recent years have seen the rise of the pace
merchants, hammering out jigs and reels as fast as their fingers or lungs will
let them and losing a grasp of the tradition as a consequence, since such speed
reduces the potential for intricate melodic variation. In contrast, Providence
never let subtlety be subordinate to alacrity, drawing deep from their
collective roots to offer a potent blend of tunes and songs.

Nowhere is this
more evident than on The Curlew Hills/Father Dollard’s, a couple
of rolling hornpipes, where the fiddle of the band’s latest recruit, Clodagh
Boylan, meshes seamlessly with John Wynne’s flute and the concertina of Micheál
Ó Raghallaigh. Ó Raghallaigh’s warm, yet frisky playing characterises much of
the Providence sound, given extra depths by the guile of Paul Doyle’s ever-supportive
guitar and bouzouki. In contrast, when a tune requires added spark, such as a
set of slip jigs kicked off by The Arragh Mountains or an airing of the
band’s ‘signature tune’ The Providence Reel, it’s generated by the
innate ebullience of their playing.

Yet, like many an
Irish band (most notably Altan or Dervish), there are two sides to Providence.
On the one hand, there’s the masters of traditional tunesmithery and, on the
other, there’s the band that supports singer Joan McDermott. A noted song
researcher, there are five outings here for the ex-Fallen Angels bright and
breathy vocals, including a comic love song in Irish, Muiris Ó Coinnleáin,
and Smuggling the Tin, learned from the renowned Dublin singer, the late
Liam Weldon.

Finally, as a taster for their superb
live performances, Providence are caught in the act playing a set of reels
recorded on a recent Scottish tour. You’d be well advised to catch this album
too.